Four yoga positions for during pregnancy

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Posted on: 14 July 2015

Four yoga positions for during pregnancy

Concerned about carrying on the ashtanga? Fear not. Yoga teacher Nadia Narain shares the benefits of yoga during pregnancy and has a clutch of tension- and pain-relieving positions for you to practise at home

Yoga benefits women so much in pregnancy, the benefits are endless. From simple things like their posture and feeling comfortable in their bodies with this new being growing inside them, to learning to breathe correctly – a pregnant woman is breathing for two, for her and for her baby.

Yoga also helps to calm the nervous system and calm the mind. Women are told so many fearful stories from other people, it's important that a pregnant mother stays grounded and calm and feels empowered to make decisions that feel right for her and her baby. A woman using her body to help her feel balanced and calm can be very beneficial.

These are a few great positions to do at home that are easy to do, help release tension and are great for back pain:

Check in with your posture, especially if you sit at a desk. Whenever possible rotate the hips and try and get up and move around regularly.

Get on your hands and knees, arching and rounding the spine, then moving your hips in a circle eight times one way, then eight times the other way.

Stretching the arms over the head, interlacing the fingers and breathing into the whole body, make as much space as possible for you and the baby

Lean your palms against the wall and rise up onto the balls of your feet and then lower the heels. Do this 20 times, getting circulation into the ankles. Then, turn side on and rest one hand on the wall if you need or both hands on the hips. Extend the right leg out and rotate the right ankle eight times one way, then eight the other. Then change legs.